Chief Rugby Reporter

No place to hide: A young Stephen Moore prepares to pack down at hooker for the Wallabies against Ireland back in 2008. They meet again on Saturday. Photo: Cameron Spencer

Legendary former Ireland hooker Keith Wood says the Wallabies have been forced to confront their set-piece demons after running a mile from scrummaging for many years.

Wood, still the highest-scoring hooker of all time a decade after his retirement from Test rugby, believes the evolution of scrummaging laws during the past decade helped the Wallabies avoid the tough stuff at scrum time.

The 63-Test former Ireland captain said new "soft-engagement" rules, which reduced the importance of the "hit" and put more emphasis on wrestling, had forced the Wallabies to front up.

"I have always thought Australia was trying to get away from scrummaging, that they didn't want to do it too much," Wood said.

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"A lot of the law changes that happened have helped that, but it's different now, there is no hiding."

The Wallabies pack survived the challenge against Italy at the weekend after being annihilated by England on opposition ball a week earlier.

Wood said Australia were hard done-by at Twickenham under referee George Clancy but showed their mettle by turning it around in Turin. He singled out starting hooker Stephen Moore for praise.

"I think he is maturing incredibly well, he is an incredibly consistent performer," he said. "You could see when things don't go well for them at scrum time [in England] he was absolutely angry. That's a good thing."

Ireland loom as a huge threat to Australia's burgeoning confidence. Big wins against Argentina and Italy, where the Wallabies attack was given the time and space to wreak havoc, have been interspersed with tighter, high-pressure affairs with which the team has not coped.

A second-string Ireland had a field day after warming up against Samoa on Saturday. But Wood believes the home side was just whetting its appetites for higher profile clashes with Australia and New Zealand over the coming fortnight.

New coach Joe Schmidt, whose recent promotion from provincial powerhouse Leinster to the Test role mirrors the trajectory of Ewen McKenzie from the Reds, will have the full complement of Ireland veterans at his disposal, including captain Paul O'Connell, Sean O'Brien and Brian O'Driscoll.

"Nobody has any real idea what he's going to be like [as a coach] apart from the players," Wood said of Schmidt.

"I have spoken to a few of them, and the non-Leinster guys are a little bit taken aback by his attention to detail. He is remarkably precise, and there may be a level of adjustment they all have to go through.

"But it's a great thing for them that they feel challenged almost immediately. O'Driscoll [who plays for Leinster] says he's the best coach he's ever played under, he feels he is learning something all the time."

The last time the countries met was in the 2011 World Cup, when Ireland shocked the Wallabies with a 15-6 win in the pool stages.

Despite that loss and a fairly even ledger during the past seven years, there still exists a widespread expectation in Australia that a Test against Ireland is a "should-win".

"I don't think that's fair any more," said Wood, who played the Wallabies 10 times between 1994 and 2003, winning just one of those encounters.

"When I look at Australia from an Irish perspective, I would say we can win. Not that we should, but certainly that we can win. And if we play to the very top of our ability I would say that we both can and should."

Wood is intrigued with the Wallabies' flagging fortunes under McKenzie, and thinks Ireland could be well placed to test the tourists' character at Aviva Stadium on Saturday.

"The Wallabies have foundered this year," he said. "They are in a better place than they were at the start of the season but it is also the end of a long year.

"Ireland are playing at home, they would have to take the hope that they can win, but they will need to start the game with a high level of aggression, be incredibly accurate and incredibly effective.

"You can't afford to make a lot of mistakes against Australia, they are always close, no matter who they are playing against."

10 comments so far

This is a tough pick. The Irish have some class in the backs and the forwards. Not sure if 'home ground' means as much as 'home weather'. The Wallabys have often struggled in cold, wet conditions. If it's dry, I'd probably favour Australia. If it' a cold, rain soaked bog, Ireland by 7. It's going to be a cracker though.

Commenter

matt

Date and time

November 12, 2013, 6:48AM

I don't think wiley Woods assertion that the Wallabies scrum has been in hiding correct, quiet the reverse, it's been found out many a time. I also don't agree that playing Ireland has always been a 'should win' for the Wallaby. The passion and pride that Ireland bring to the game is second to none. They are a dangerous side, especially at home.Can the Wallabies make it two wins in a row ? There's an enormous challenge in that question.

Commenter

Machooka

Location

inner west Sydney

Date and time

November 12, 2013, 8:04AM

Nothing new there Woods. Scrumagging wouldn't be high on the improve list for the wobblies if Sio was left behind in Canberra.

Commenter

Rugnut

Location

Brisbane

Date and time

November 12, 2013, 11:38AM

Fortunately the Wallabies are Australia's B or even C team. Australians aren't very good or very interested in British public school antics of scrums which in most countries would see you charged under public morals laws - what else for public schools. They want to see entertainment, ball handlingand skilled running tactics - not backsides in the air, collapses, whistle blowing, endless stupid penalties, and all the other scrummage rubbish by rugby trolls.

Real running rugby is in the RL World Cup where the A team show how to play real rugby.

Commenter

riviera

Location

U.K.

Date and time

November 13, 2013, 4:29AM

Fortunately the Wallabies are Australia's B or even C team. Australians aren't very good or very interested in British public school antics of scrums which in most countries would see you charged under public morals laws - what else for public schools. They want to see entertainment, ball handlingand skilled running tactics - not backsides in the air, collapses, whistle blowing, endless stupid penalties, and all the other scrummage rubbish by rugby trolls.

Real running rugby is in the RL World Cup where the A team show how to play real rugby.

Commenter

d.j.mckenzie@hotmail.com

Location

U.K.

Date and time

November 13, 2013, 4:32AM

And that's why RL is so much more popular than Union...oh hang on a minute...

Commenter

Munstermac

Location

Ireland

Date and time

November 13, 2013, 8:49PM

Matt - Granted Australia don't like bad weather (I was in Thomond Park when they played Munster a couple of years ago!!) but the day of Ireland praying for bad weather to come to their aid are long gone. Ireland would like nothing better than a nice dry, windless pitch so that Kearney, Bowe, BOD, Sexton, O'Brien, O'Mahony, Heaslip and Healy can run riot.

Commenter

Munstermac

Location

Ireland

Date and time

November 13, 2013, 8:48PM

I would love to see the Irish back line open up. Sexton is far better than his opponent as is Tommy Bowe. Brian O'Driscoll is peerless on his day. The only problem I see is timing. I don't know if Ireland are at the right end of their season. Their forwards are as tough as they come and smart. I see this as their weapon. As a devout England fan, I respect Irelands' potential because we've suffered at their hands many times.

Commenter

matt

Date and time

November 14, 2013, 11:06PM

Real Rugby had almost forty thousand spectators in Dublin last weekend, the Rugby league game less than five thousand. This weekend fifty two thousand for Wallabies V Ireland. I bet more people will watch the rugby games all over the world in November than the Rugby Leagueworld cup which is really the Aussie ABCDEFG teams playing against each other? The only league worth watching is QLd V NSW three time ayear.. .The game they play in heaven will always have a bigger following.

Commenter

Real rugby

Location

Cairns

Date and time

November 14, 2013, 2:19PM

You only forgot one thing......actually you pretty much nailed it.....well said.